At the end of last year, we shared some of the hazards in our home with you. It wasn’t pretty. Be warned, there are some more on the way. Considering we shared 6 hazards with you last time, you’d think that there’d be none left, but this house has more than its fair share of dodgyness.
So in addition to asbestos, mould, PVC plasticisers and lead paint here are a few more things that we’re trying to sort around here.
Lead Pipes
When we moved in, we knew that our water mains connection would need renewing. Not only was it over 100 years old, but the pipes were also made of lead. Needless to say, having our fresh water supply running through old lead pipes was not ideal. We installed a new water mains connection by ourselves last year and bizarrely it was one of the easiest and cheapest DIY jobs we’ve talked in the house so far.
Damp Cellar
Having a damp cellar is really annoying. It can cause mould, rot and could even cause structural damage. Our middle cellar room doesn’t have a proper floor, so when it rains non-stop for days on end, water sometimes comes up through the floor. It also means that we can’t really store much down there. Hopefully it’s one of the jobs that we’ll get round to sorting this year.
Gas
When we first moved in, we had two gas fireplaces in the house. The one in the lounge was ugly, but fairly safe. The one in the dining room on the other hand was really quite hazardous. One of the very first things we had sorted when we moved in, was having it (and the one in the lounge) disconnected. The last thing you want is a gas leak!
Cast Iron Pipes and Drainage
Having replaced our lead water mains pipe last year, the next step is to start replacing all of the old cast iron downpipes. We’ve already had the cast iron gutters replaced, but all of our bathroom drainage is still the 100 year cast iron stuff. We could probably do with sorting our underground drainage and inspection chamber in the front garden, too.
Leaky & Leaning Chimney
Not only does the back chimney lean in slightly, but the chimney pots are lose, too! Every time it’s really windy I half expect to hear a huge bang and find that our chimney pots have fallen through the roof and have landed in the back bedroom. This is also the leaky chimney that is causing the damp wall in our 4th bedroom. It’s really something that needs sorting as soon as possible, especially as it’s been soo windy here lately.
Of course we have a few other little things like loose floorboards, cracked ceilings and recently it’s started raining in through the lintel over our kitchen window, but all in all we’re kind of lucky to not have discovered anything major that we didn’t already know about.
Do you have any hazards in your home? Surely we’re not alone here!
Living in an old house as you, I have the same kind of hazard as you have and just like you, I’m addressing them one at a time! But I had someone new checking all the gas pipes since I had a new link in November (on a brand new installation that was supposed to fix any hazard, may I add). I have a small leak in the bathroom roof window since the last big storm on Christmas Day, but I managed to do something on myself to stop it… until next big storm!
I love the way we’re both completely mad and don’t think leaks into the house are a big deal. I’m sure most people would completely freak out!
Cx